Domain appraisal algorithm

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of the present invention provide for the spinning and appraisal of a domain name. A list of keywords may be extracted from a domain name entered into a user interface on a client. These keywords may be compared to potential matches in a database and a result set may be compiled and displayed to the user. The client may also display a certified domain name appraisal using a plurality of logical groupings within a domain name appraisal process. This appraisal process may also include a multiplier derived from comparisons of registration statistics for various top level domains.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application is related to the following concurrently-filedpatent applications:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/708,752, “SEMANTIC DOMAIN NAMESPINNING.”

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/708,775, “AUTOMATED SEMANTIC DOMAINSPINNING TOOLS.”.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/708,793, “APPRAISING DOMAIN NAMESUSING COMPARATIVE DATA.”

The subject matter of all patent applications is commonly owned andassigned to Go Daddy Operating Company, LLC. All prior applications areincorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present inventions generally relate to the field of domain names andspecifically to the field of semantic domain name spinning and domainappraisal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides methods and systems for spinning a domainname (automated tools used to create domain permutations) based onsemantic input. An exemplary method may comprise several steps includingthe step of passing a domain name into the system by receiving thedomain name via an interface on a client operated by a user of thesystem. The system may then parse the domain name into keywords andbuild an array of similar keywords based on a semantic search. Twodifferent comparisons may then be made: First, in spinning the domainname for auction or appraisal, the array of similar keywords may becompared to information in data storage. If an exact match is found inthe database, the exact match may be appended to the result set in toppriority and the result set may be returned. In another embodiment, thearray of similar keywords may be compared against one or more availabledomain names. If an exact match is found within the one or moreavailable domain names, the exact match may be appended to the resultset in top priority and the result set may be returned. The returnedresult set may then be appraised for value to the user.

The present invention also provides methods and systems for an automatedappraisal of the domain name above for a certified appraisal process,using an appraisal process algorithm. The appraisal may be accomplishedby breaking the valuation of the domain into five logical groupings,possibly including evaluation of “5 P's” related to the domain name.Evaluation of “precision” may include the number of distinct keywordsfound, the length of the name and the number of keywords found in thedictionary. Evaluation of “popularity” may include various search enginesearch result metrics and tracking of words searched per month.Evaluation of “presence” may include the age of the domain, and the rankof the web site according to web ranking services or software.Evaluation of “pattern” may include the number of premium characters,the part of speech (such as noun, plural noun, verb, adjective, etc.,possibly considering if the domain is a one word domain), therelationship of vowels and consonants etc. (possibly considering if thedomain is a 4-5 character word). Evaluation of Pay-Per-Click, or PPC,may include the maximum number of pay-per-click bids from variousadvertising tracking services or software, and the number of adsreturned within search engine searches. A dynamic multiplier based onregistration statistics for each of several top level domains (TLDs) maythen be applied to the domain evaluation. This multiplier may be used togive a very accurate measure of domain scarcity to let a user orevaluator know how rare a domain name is.

The above features and advantages of the present invention will bebetter understood from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a possible embodiment of a methodfor semantic domain name spinning.

FIG. 2 illustrates a possible system for semantic domain name spinningand appraising a domain name.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a possible embodiment of a methodfor semantic domain name spinning.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a possible embodiment of a methodfor semantic domain name spinning.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a possible embodiment of a methodfor semantic domain name spinning.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a possible embodiment of a methodfor semantic domain name spinning.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a possible embodiment of a methodfor appraising a domain name.

FIG. 8 illustrates a possible embodiment of an interface for displayingthe results of the domain spinning and the certified domain appraisalprocess.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present inventions will now be discussed in detail with regard tothe attached drawing figures that were briefly described above. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are set forthillustrating the Applicant's best mode for practicing the invention andenabling one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention.It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be practiced without many of these specific details. Inother instances, well-known machines, structures, and method steps havenot been described in particular detail in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the present invention. Unless otherwise indicated, like partsand method steps are referred to with like reference numerals.

A network is a collection of links and nodes (e.g., multiple computersand/or other devices connected together) arranged so that informationmay be passed from one part of the network to another over multiplelinks and through various nodes. Examples of networks include theInternet, the public switched telephone network, the global Telexnetwork, computer networks (e.g., an intranet, an extranet, a local-areanetwork, or a wide-area network), wired networks, and wireless networks.

The Internet is a worldwide network of computers and computer networksarranged to allow the easy and robust exchange of information betweencomputer users. Hundreds of millions of people around the world haveaccess to computers connected to the Internet via Internet ServiceProviders (ISPs). Content providers place multimedia information (e.g.,text, graphics, audio, video, animation, and other forms of data) atspecific locations on the Internet referred to as websites. Thecombination of all the websites and their corresponding web pages on theInternet is generally known as the World Wide Web (WWW) or simply theWeb.

For Internet users and businesses alike, the Internet continues to beincreasingly valuable. More people use the Web for everyday tasks, fromsocial networking, shopping, banking, and paying bills to consumingmedia and entertainment. E-commerce is growing, with businessesdelivering more services and content across the Internet, communicatingand collaborating online, and inventing new ways to connect with eachother.

Prevalent on the Web are multimedia websites, some of which may offerand sell goods and services to individuals and organizations. Websitesmay consist of a single webpage, but typically consist of multipleinterconnected and related web pages. Websites, unless extremely largeand complex or have unusual traffic demands, typically reside on asingle server and are prepared and maintained by a single individual orentity. Menus and links may be used to move between different web pageswithin the website or to move to a different website as is known in theart. The interconnectivity of web pages enabled by the Internet can makeit difficult for Internet users to tell where one website ends andanother begins.

Websites may be created using HyperText Markup Language (HTML) togenerate a standard set of tags that define how the web pages for thewebsite are to be displayed. Users of the Internet may access contentproviders' websites using software known as an Internet browser, such asMICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER or MOZILLA FIREFOX. After the browser haslocated the desired webpage, it requests and receives information fromthe webpage, typically in the form of an HTML document, and thendisplays the webpage content for the user. The user then may view otherweb pages at the same website or move to an entirely different websiteusing the browser.

Some Internet users, typically those that are larger and moresophisticated, may provide their own hardware, software, and connectionsto the Internet. But many Internet users either do not have theresources available or do not want to create and maintain theinfrastructure necessary to host their own websites. To assist suchindividuals (or entities), hosting companies exist that offer websitehosting services. These hosting providers typically provide thehardware, software, and electronic communication means necessary toconnect multiple websites to the Internet. A single hosting provider mayliterally host thousands of websites on one or more hosting servers.

Browsers are able to locate specific websites because each website,resource, and computer on the Internet has a unique Internet Protocol(IP) address. Presently, there are two standards for IP addresses. Theolder IP address standard, often called IP Version 4 (IPv4), is a 32-bitbinary number, which is typically shown in dotted decimal notation,where four 8-bit bytes are separated by a dot from each other (e.g.,64.202.167.32). The notation is used to improve human readability. Thenewer IP address standard, often called IP Version 6 (IPv6) or NextGeneration Internet Protocol (IPng), is a 128-bit binary number. Thestandard human readable notation for IPv6 addresses presents the addressas eight 16-bit hexadecimal words, each separated by a colon (e.g.,2EDC:BA98:0332:0000:CF8A:000C:2154:7313).

IP addresses, however, even in human readable notation, are difficultfor people to remember and use. A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is mucheasier to remember and may be used to point to any computer, directory,or file on the Internet. A browser is able to access a website on theInternet through the use of a URL. The URL may include a HypertextTransfer Protocol (HTTP) request combined with the website's Internetaddress, also known as the website's domain name. An example of a URLwith a HTTP request and domain name is: http://www.companyname.com. Inthis example, the “http” identifies the URL as a HTTP request and the“companyname.com” is the domain name.

Domain names are much easier to remember and use than theircorresponding IP addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Namesand Numbers (ICANN) approves some Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) anddelegates the responsibility to a particular organization (a “registry”)for maintaining an authoritative source for the registered domain nameswithin a TLD and their corresponding IP addresses. For certain TLDs(e.g., .biz, .info, .name, and .org) the registry is also theauthoritative source for contact information related to the domain nameand is referred to as a “thick” registry. For other TLDs (e.g., .com and.net) only the domain name, registrar identification, and name serverinformation is stored within the registry, and a registrar is theauthoritative source for the contact information related to the domainname. Such registries are referred to as “thin” registries. Most gTLDsare organized through a central domain name Shared Registration System(SRS) based on their TLD.

The process for registering a domain name with .com, .net, .org, andsome other TLDs allows an Internet user to use an ICANN-accreditedregistrar to register their domain name. For example, if an Internetuser, John Doe, wishes to register the domain name “mycompany.com,” JohnDoe may initially determine whether the desired domain name is availableby contacting a domain name registrar. The Internet user may make thiscontact using the registrar's webpage and typing the desired domain nameinto a field on the registrar's webpage created for this purpose. Uponreceiving the request from the Internet user, the registrar mayascertain whether “mycompany.com” has already been registered bychecking the SRS database associated with the TLD of the domain name.The results of the search then may be displayed on the webpage tothereby notify the Internet user of the availability of the domain name.If the domain name is available, the Internet user may proceed with theregistration process. If the domain name is not available forregistration, the Internet user may keep selecting alternative domainnames until an available domain name is found.

A Method and System for Semantic Domain Name Spinning

Several different methods may be used to provide and manage thedisclosed invention. In an example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, auser may enter a domain name into a user interface on a client, possiblyseeking more information about the domain name, such as domain auctionor other aftermarket information, domain appraisal or evaluationinformation, or information about the domain's availability (Step 100).Any combination of software modules used together with hardware on aserver in a data center may receive and analyze the submittedinformation, possibly supplemented with additional information from datastorage within the data center. One or more software modules may usethis analysis to extract one or more keywords from the received domainname (Step 110). Using these one or more keywords, one or more moduleson a communicatively coupled server or client may build a keyword array,and this keyword array may be compared to possible matches contained ina database within data storage, which may also be communicativelycoupled to the server or client (Step 120). If a match is found, thematch may be appended to the result set, with exact matches in toppriority; otherwise, the result set may be returned to the user anddisplayed on the client for purposes of domain auction, domainaftermarket, domain appraisal or availability of the domain name (Step130). An appraisal for valuation of the domain name may also be returnedand displayed to the user on the client, possibly based on the “5P”appraisal factors, discussed in detail below (Step 140).

Several different environments may be used to accomplish the steps ofembodiments disclosed herein. FIG. 2 demonstrates a streamlined exampleof such an environment and illustrates a non-limiting example of asystem and/or structure that may be used to accomplish the methods andembodiments disclosed and described herein. Such methods may beperformed by any central processing unit (CPU) in any computing system,such as a microprocessor running on at least one server 210 and/orclient 220, and executing instructions stored (perhaps as scripts and/orsoftware, possibly as software modules) in computer-readable mediaaccessible to the CPU, such as a hard disk drive on a server 210 and/orclient 220.

The example embodiments herein place no limitations on whom or what maycomprise users. Thus, as non-limiting examples, users may comprise anyindividual, entity, business, corporation, partnership, organization,governmental entity, and/or educational institution that may haveoccasion to seek information for domain spinning or appraisal.

The example embodiments shown and described herein exist within theframework of a network 200 and should not limit possible networkconfiguration or connectivity. Such a network 200 may comprise, asnon-limiting examples, any combination of the Internet, the publicswitched telephone network, the global Telex network, computer networks(e.g., an intranet, an extranet, a local-area network, or a wide-areanetwork), a wired network, a wireless network, a telephone network, acorporate network backbone or any other combination of known or laterdeveloped networks.

At least one server 210 and at least one client 220 may becommunicatively coupled to the network 200 via any method of networkconnection known in the art or developed in the future including, butnot limited to wired, wireless, modem, dial-up, satellite, cable modem,Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Asymmetric Digital Subscribers Line(ASDL), Virtual Private Network (VPN), Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN), X.25, Ethernet, token ring, Fiber Distributed DataInterface (FDDI), IP over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), InfraredData Association (IrDA), wireless, WAN technologies (T1, Frame Relay),Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE), and/or any combinationthereof.

The server(s) 210 and client(s) 220 (along with software modules and thedata storage 230 disclosed herein) may be communicatively coupled to thenetwork 200 and to each other in such as way as to allow a user to enterinto a user interface on the client 220, and for the server 210 toreceive, the domain name to generate the keywords to search informationin data storage 230 for domain spinning information related to domainaftermarket, domain appraisal, domain availability and/or accomplish anyother methods disclosed herein.

Such server(s) 210 may comprise any computer or program that providesservices to other computers, programs, or users either in the samecomputer or over a computer network 200. As non-limiting examples, theserver 210 may comprise application, communication, mail, database,proxy, fax, file, media, web, peer-to-peer, standalone, software, orhardware servers (i.e., server computers) and may use any server formatknown in the art or developed in the future (possibly a shared hostingserver, a virtual dedicated hosting server, a dedicated hosting server,a cloud hosting solution, a grid hosting solution, or any combinationthereof) and may be used, for example to provide access to the Internet,domain auction, aftermarket, availability or appraisal information,registrar domain information and/or other data requested by a client220.

The server 210 may exist within a server cluster, as illustrated. Theseclusters may include a group of tightly coupled computers that worktogether so that in many respects they can be viewed as though they area single computer. The components may be connected to each other throughfast local area networks which may improve performance and/oravailability over that provided by a single computer.

The software modules used in the context of the current invention may bestored in the memory of—and run on—at least one server 210 or client220. As a non-limiting example of such software modules, a keywordextraction module may be used to extract keywords from the domain nameto retrieve and compare information stored in data storage 230 forpurposes of domain auction, domain appraisal and/or domain availability.A domain appraisal module, or several related software modules workingtogether (disclosed below), may likewise be used to appraise thevaluation of the domain name, etc. The software modules may comprisesoftware and/or scripts containing instructions that, when executed by amicroprocessor on a server 210 or client 220, cause the microprocessorto accomplish the purpose of the module or the methods disclosed herein,in this example to extract keywords from a domain name, retrieve andcompare related keyword and/or domain name information from data storage230, appraise the valuation of the domain name and/or display thisdomain and other retrieved information to the user on a client 220.

The client 220 may be any computer or program that provides services toother computers, programs, or users either in the same computer or overa computer network 200. As non-limiting examples, the client 220 may bean application, communication, mail, database, proxy, fax, file, media,web, peer-to-peer, or standalone computer, cell phone, personal digitalassistant (PDA), etc. which may contain an operating system, a full filesystem, a plurality of other necessary utilities or applications or anycombination thereof on the client 220. Non limiting example programmingenvironments for client applications may include JavaScript/AJAX (clientside automation), ASP, JSP, Ruby on Rails, Python's Django, PHP, HTMLpages or rich media like Flash, Flex or Silverlight.

The client 220 that may be used to connect to the network 200 toaccomplish the illustrated embodiments may include, but are not limitedto, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a hand held computer, aterminal, a television, a television set top box, a cellular phone, awireless phone, a wireless hand held device, an Internet access device,a rich client, thin client, or any other client functional with aclient/server computing architecture. Client software may be used forauthenticated remote access to a hosting computer or server. These maybe, but are not limited to being accessed by a remote desktop programand/or a web browser, as are known in the art.

The user interface displayed on the client 220 or the server 210 may beany graphical, textual, scanned and/or auditory information a computerprogram presents to the user, and the control sequences such askeystrokes, movements of the computer mouse, selections with a touchscreen, scanned information etc. used to control the program. Examplesof such interfaces include any known or later developed combination ofGraphical User Interfaces (GUI) or Web-based user interfaces as seen inFIG. 8, Touch interfaces, Conversational Interface Agents, Live UserInterfaces (LUI), Command line interfaces, Noncommand user interfaces,Object-oriented User Interfaces (OOUI) or Voice user interfaces. Thedomain name information generated, or any other information, may beaccepted using any field, widget and/or control used in such interfaces,including but not limited to a text-box, text field, button, hyper-link,list, drop-down list, check-box, radio button, data grid, icon,graphical image, embedded link, etc.

The server 210 and/or client 220 may be communicatively coupled to datastorage 230 of domain name information, domain name appraisalinformation, domain name spinning information or any other informationrequested. The data storage 230 may be any computer components, devices,and/or recording media that may retain digital data used for computingfor some interval of time. The storage may be capable of retainingstored content for the domain information or any other data requested,on a single machine or in a cluster of computers over the network 200,in separate memory areas of the same machine such as different harddrives, or in separate partitions within the same hard drive, such as adatabase partition.

Non-limiting examples of the data storage 230 may include, but are notlimited to, a Network Area Storage, (“NAS”), which may be aself-contained file level computer data storage connected to andsupplying a computer network with file-based data storage services. Thestorage subsystem may also be a Storage Area Network (“SAN”—anarchitecture to attach remote computer storage devices to servers insuch a way that the devices appear as locally attached), an NAS-SANhybrid, any other means of central/shared storage now known or laterdeveloped or any combination thereof.

Structurally, the data storage 230 may comprise any collection of data.As non-limiting examples, the data storage 230 may comprise a localdatabase, online database, desktop database, server-side database,relational database, hierarchical database, network database, objectdatabase, object-relational database, associative database,concept-oriented database, entity-attribute-value database,multi-dimensional database, semi-structured database, star schemadatabase, XML database, file, collection of files, spreadsheet, and/orother means of data storage such as a magnetic media, hard drive, otherdisk drive, volatile memory (e.g., RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., ROMor flash), and/or any combination thereof.

The server(s) 210 or software modules within the server(s) 210 may usequery languages such as MSSQL or MySQL to retrieve the content from thedata storage 230. Server-side scripting languages such as ASP, PHP,CGI/Perl, proprietary scripting software/modules/components etc. may beused to process the retrieved data. The retrieved data may be analyzedin order to determine domain names and keywords recognized by thescripting language, key words to be matched to those found in datastorage, availability of domain names, comparisons to appraisals ofother domain names or any other method steps disclosed herein.

Another environment similar to the data center 240 may also be used toaccess information about a domain name on a registrar's server 210 in aregistrar's data center 250. As the user accesses information about adomain name, another command from the software modules may be used toredirect to a registrar's server 210 in a registrar's data center 250.This server may also contain software components which allow a datastorage 230, either separate from or integrated into the registrar'sserver, to access information regarding domain name spinning andappraisal for the users. The registrar's server 210 may use theregistrar's data storage 230 and software modules or components on theserver 210 to search for information relating to the domain namespinning or appraisal as requested by the user. If such information isavailable, the software modules or components on the server 210 and/orregistrar's server 210 may be used to forward this information from thedata storage 230 to the user/potential customer. This information mayalso be forwarded to an email account of the user.

In a non-limiting example embodiment, the data center 240 and/orregistrar data center 250 may provide hosting services for websites,services or software relating to the domain information, or any relatedhosted website including, but not limited to hosting one or morecomputers or servers in a data center 240/250 as well as providing thegeneral infrastructure necessary to offer hosting services to Internetusers including hardware, software, Internet web sites, hosting servers,and electronic communication means necessary to connect multiplecomputers and/or servers to the Internet or any other network 200. Thesedata centers 240/250 or the related clients 220 may accept messages fromtext messages, SMS, web, mobile web, instant message, third party APIprojects or other third party applications.

In an example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a domain name may bereceived via information entered into an interface on a client 220operated by a user of the system. The system may then parse the domainname into keywords and build an array of similar keywords based on asemantic search.

FIG. 3 shows that the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, as well as otherdisclosed embodiments, may include the steps of passing the domain nameinto the system (Step 300), parsing the domain name into keywords, aswell as all subsequent steps described below associated with FIG. 4(Step 310), building an array of similar keywords based on a semanticsearch, as well as all subsequent steps described below associated withFIG. 5 (Step 320) and comparing the keywords to return a result set(Step 390).

Two different comparisons may be made: First, in spinning the domainname, such as for auction, aftermarket or appraisal, the array ofsimilar keywords based on the semantic search may be compared toinformation in data storage 230 such as a database (Step 330). If anexact match is found in the database (Step 340), the exact match may beappended to the result set in top priority (Step 350) and the resultset, including the prioritized exact matches, may be returned (Step390). In another embodiment, the array may be compared against one ormore available domain names (Step 360). In spinning the domain name fora check against domain availability (Step 360), if an exact match isfound in the array against a check for domain availability (Step 370),the exact match may be appended to the result set in top priority (Step380) and the result set, including the prioritized exact matches, may bereturned (Step 390). The returned result set may then be appraised forvaluation of the domain name for the user (Step 140).

FIG. 4 shows that the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, as wellas other disclosed embodiments, may include the steps of passing thedomain name in to the system (Step 300), building a list of all stringsand/or substrings contained in the domain name (Step 400), running thestrings and/or substrings through a dictionary to identify English wordswithin the list of strings and/or substrings built from the domain name(Step 410), assigning a relevancy score to each string and/or substring(Step 420) and returning a result set based on the relevancy scoreassigned to each string and/or substring (Step 430). As previouslydisclosed, Steps 400-430, illustrated in FIG. 4, may be, but are notlimited to, being sub-steps of parsing a domain name into keywords (Step310).

The step of assigning a relevancy score to each string and/or substring(Step 420) may include, but are not limited to, several relevancyfactors, including the length of the word, the percentage of coverage ofthe domain name, whether the substring is a substring of a larger wordand/or string, the parts of speech associated with the string and/orsubstring or domain name and/or a search phrase result set.

FIG. 5 shows that the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, as wellas other disclosed embodiments, may include the step of passing thedomain name in to the system (Step 300). Passing in these keywords (Step500) may allow additional acronyms, regional synonyms, domain categorykeywords and synonyms from a thesaurus to be added to the keyword listand synonyms. These additional tools may be used to build an array ofsimilar keywords based on a semantic search (Step 320).

Once the keywords are passed in to the system (Step 500), the keywordsand/or domain name may be checked for known acronyms or abbreviations(Step 510). As a non-limiting example, the keyword and/or domain namemay recognize that ASU is an acronym for Arizona State University, orthat AZ is an abbreviation for Arizona. Any acronyms and/orabbreviations found may then be added to the keyword list and/or array(Step 520).

Data storage 230, such as a database, may be used to check the domainname, each of the words in the list of keywords, substrings of thedomain name/keywords, or the previously disclosed acronyms/abbreviationsfor matches of regional synonyms. As a non-limiting example, “ArizonaState University,” “Arizona,” “ASU” and “AZ” may all be recognized asbeing synonymous with and/or associated with the word “Southwest.” (Step530). The regional synonyms may then be added to the keyword list (Step540).

A series of domain categories may be established and used to pull morekeywords, as well as all subsequent steps described below associatedwith FIG. 6 (Step 550). The category keywords pulled may then be addedto the keyword list (Step 560). A thesaurus may then be used to findsynonyms for the domain name, each of the words in the list of keywords,substrings of the domain name/keywords, or the previously disclosedacronyms/abbreviations. The keyword list, as well as any synonyms(regional or otherwise) and/or acronyms may then be returned (Step 580).As previously disclosed, Steps 500-580, illustrated in FIG. 5, may be,but are not limited to being sub-steps of building an array of similarkeywords based on a semantic search (Step 320).

FIG. 6 shows that the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, aswell as other disclosed embodiments, may include the steps of passingthe domain name in to the system (Step 300). Once the domain name, listof keywords, acronyms/abbreviations and/or synonyms are passed in to thesystem (Step 500), these elements may be matched against one or morecategory keywords (Step 600). As seen in FIG. 6, these category keywordsmay be stored in data storage 230 such as a database containing a staticlist of categories and keywords for each category.

After matching the keyword list against the category keywords (Step600), a determination may be made as to whether more than one categorywas matched (Step 610). If so, the categories found may be ordered byrelevancy (Step 620). Whether or not more than one category was matched(Step 610), the top 1 category may be returned (Step 630). If more thanone category was matched (Step 610), the top 1 category, as well as thecategories ordered by relevancy, may also be returned (Step 630). Aspreviously disclosed, Steps 600-630, illustrated in FIG. 6, may be, butare not limited to being sub-steps of using the domain name, list ofkeywords, acronyms/abbreviations and/or synonyms to pull additionalkeywords (Step 550).

The additional steps included in the embodiments illustrated in FIGS.1-6 are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, or theirrespective illustrated embodiments, and may be combined in severaldifferent orders and modified within multiple other disclosedembodiments. Likewise, the method steps disclosed herein may beaccomplished by a software module executed on a server and/or clientconfigured to accomplish that method step. As non-limiting examples, themethod steps disclosed above may be accomplished by, but are not limitedto a domain name keyword parsing software module, a keyword arraybuilding software module, a result set returning software module, anarray and/or domain name comparison software module etc.

A Method and System for Domain Name Appraisal and Valuation

Several different methods may be used to provide and manage thedisclosed invention. In an example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, auser may enter a domain name into a user interface on a client, possiblyseeking more information about an appraisal or valuation of the domainname. In another embodiment, the domain name may be enteredautomatically into the system as a result of domain spinning, describedin detail above. Any combination of software modules used together withhardware on a client 220 in a data center 240/250 may receive andanalyze the submitted information from a user interface on a client 220,possibly supplemented by additional information from data storage 230within one or more data centers 240/250 (as illustrated in FIG. 2, anddescribed in detail above). The software modules may use this analysisto create an automated appraisal of a domain name for a certifiedappraisal process, possibly using an appraisal process algorithm, theappraisal process algorithm possibly contained within an appraisalsoftware module.

The appraisal may be accomplished, as seen in FIG. 7, by dividing thevaluation of the domain into five logical groupings, includingevaluation of “5 P's” related to the domain name. Evaluation of“precision” may include the number of distinct keywords found, thelength of the domain name and the number of keywords found in thedictionary (Step 700). Evaluation of “popularity” may include varioussearch engine search result metrics and tracking of words searched permonth (Step 710). Evaluation of “presence” may include the age of thedomain, and the rank of the web site according to web ranking servicesor software (Step 720). Evaluation of “pattern” may include the numberor percentage of premium characters, the part of speech (such as noun,plural noun, verb, adjective, etc., possibly considering if the domainis a one word domain), the relationship of vowels and consonants(possibly considering if the domain is a 4-5 character word) (Step 730).Evaluation of Pay-Per-Click, or PPC, may include the maximum number ofpay-per-click bids from various advertising tracking services ofsoftware, and the number of ads returned within search engine searches(Step 740). A dynamic multiplier based on registration statistics foreach top level domain (TLD), as well as other evaluation elementsdescribed in detail below, may then be applied to the domain appraisaland/or valuation. This may be used to give a very accurate measure ofdomain scarcity to let a user or evaluator know how rare a domain nameis.

Precision, the first of the 5 P's evaluated, may include one or moreprecision-determining elements. These precision-determining elements mayinclude the following: the number of distinct keywords found in thedomain name, whether the keywords are found in the dictionary, possiblyincluding the number of keywords found, the length of the domain nameand whether numerals are found in the domain name, possibly includingthe number of numerals found. These precision-determining elements maybe stored in data storage 230 and assigned values used to determine thedomain name's appraisal value and/or valuation.

A precision-determining algorithm may be established, stored and/orcontained within one or more software modules, possibly one or moreprecision-determining software modules. Such algorithms and softwaremodules may be stored and executed within an environment in a datacenter 240/250 using a server 210, client 220 and/or data storage 230,any or all of which may be communicatively coupled to a network 200.

This precision-determining algorithm, which may be substantially similarto that demonstrated in the non-limiting example embodiment(s) below andthroughout this disclosure, may assign values to theprecision-determining elements and/or may use these and/or otherpreviously-stored precision-determining elements to determine theprecision of the domain name, which in turn may be used to determine theappraisal value and/or valuation of the domain name.

The one or more software modules, possibly one or moreprecision-determining software modules containing theprecision-determining algorithm, may be executed by a processor on aserver 210, and the results may be sent through a network 200 anddisplayed on a user interface on a client 220.

In another non-limiting example embodiment, the elements may be storedin a local database, spreadsheet and/or any other data storage 230 onthe client 220. In this embodiment, one or more software modules,possibly one or more precision-determining software modules, softwaremodules within a local database or spreadsheet, or any combinationthereof may be used to calculate and execute the precision-determiningalgorithm.

As a non-limiting example, a spreadsheet may determine the Precision ofthe domain name by using any combination of software modules describedabove to store, calculate and/or execute the followingprecision-determining algorithm:

  =(IF(AND(words=1,dictionary=1),500,0)+IF(words=2,0,0)+IF(words=3,−100,0)+IF(words=4,−500,0)+IF(words>4,−1000,0)+IF(dictionary=1,100,−100)+IF(length<3,500,0)+IF(length=3,400,0)+IF(length=4,100,0)+IF(length=5,25,0)+IF(AND(length>5,length<11),0,0)+IF(AND(length>10,length<16),−50,0)+IF(length>15,−100,0)+IF(numbers=1,−70,0))

In this non-limiting example, the spreadsheet may have columns, and/ordata storage 230 may have a data field for each of theprecision-determining elements, and may have an additional column and/ordata field to store the calculated Precision of the domain name. Inother embodiments, each of the precision-determining elements, as wellas the calculated Precision of the domain name may be calculated and/orstored in data fields in data storage 230. The precision-determiningelements may include, but are not limited to, “words,” “dictionary,”“length” and “numbers.”

The column and/or data field for “words” may calculate and/or store thenumber of words and/or keywords in the domain name. As non-limitingexamples, america.us, jackaroo.com, urir.com, flippity.com, planets.com,witchcraft.com, masks.org, fuel.net, whatever.com, guns.com,compassion.org, antalya.com, joust.com and islam.net may all be one-worddomain names, and thus would have a number 1 calculated and/or stored inthe “words” column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage230.

Two-word domain names, having a number 2 calculated and/or stored in the“words” column and/or data field may include, as non-limiting examples,12steps.com, finnishfelines.com, iowacars.com, pokerpinnacle.com,smokelover.com, any-cell.com, safelysent.com, sweetrings.com,goldminers.com, globalwarming.com, tagcloud.com, fungamez.com andtourbus.com.

Three-word domain names, having a number 3 calculated and/or stored inthe “words” column and/or data field may include, as non-limitingexamples, figureitout.com, onlinelampguide.com, yourfavoriteplace.com,aroundtheworld.com and realestateads.com.

The column and/or data field for “dictionary” may calculate and/or storea determination of whether the domain name and/or any keywords in thedomain name (without the TLD or “top level domain” such as .com, .us,.net, .org etc.) are a word or words found in the dictionary. Thisdetermination can be calculated and/or stored as a TRUE/FALSE value, orpossibly numerically as a 1 or 0.

As non-limiting examples planets.com, guns.com, whatever.com andwitchcraft.com may all be found in the dictionary, and thus would have anumber 1 or a value of TRUE calculated and/or stored in the “dictionary”column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230, whileurir.com, flippity.com, pokerpinacle.com and fungamez.com would have anumber 0 or a value of FALSE calculated and/or stored in the“dictionary” column of the spreadsheet or data field of data storage230.

The column and/or data field for “length” may calculate (possibly usinga=LEN([appropriate field]) calculation in a database) and/or store thelength of, or number of letters in, the domain name and/or any keywordsin the domain name (without the TLD or “top level domain” such as .com,.us, .net, .org etc.). In other words, “length” may determine and storehow many characters are in the word and/or any keywords within thedomain name. As a non-limiting example, planets.com would have a lengthof 7 letters, and thus would have a number 7 calculated and/or stored inthe “length” column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage230. Likewise, guns.com would have a length of 4 letters, and thus wouldhave a number 4 calculated and/or stored in the “length” column of thespreadsheet or data field of data storage 230.

The column and/or data field for “numbers” may calculate and/or store adetermination of whether the domain name and/or keywords in the domainname contain numbers. In other words, “numbers” may determine if thedomain contains numerals. This determination can be calculated and/orstored as a TRUE/FALSE value, or possibly numerically as a 1 or 0. Asnon-limiting examples 12steps.com contains numerals, and thus would havea number 1 or a value of TRUE calculated and/or stored in the “numbers”column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230, whilethe other domain names listed above would have a number 0 or a value ofFALSE calculated and/or stored in the “numbers” column of thespreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230.

After the precision-determining elements are calculated and/or stored,the precision-determining algorithm may then evaluate and use anycombination of the precision-determining elements or other disclosedelements to calculate and/or store the Precision of the domain name. Thevalue assigned to a particular precision-determining element mayincrease or decrease the value of the Precision of the domain name, andin turn may increase or decrease the appraisal and/or valuation of thedomain name itself.

In a non-limiting example embodiment, this process may be initiated byevaluating, by the precision-determining algorithm, the values assignedto the “words” and “dictionary” precision-determining elements andassigning an initial value to the Precision of the domain name. If bothvalues are any combination of 1 and/or TRUE, indicating there is onlyone word in the domain name and that the domain name and/or keyword isfound in the dictionary, the value of the domain name will be greater,thus the initial value of the Precision of the domain name will also behigher.

In the non-limiting example algorithm above, if the “words” and“dictionary” columns and/or data fields both have a value of 1 (orTRUE), indicating a 1-word domain name and that the 1 word is in thedictionary, the Precision of the domain name may be assigned an initialvalue of 500. If either of the values are not 1 (or FALSE), indicating agreater-than-one-word domain name, or that the 1 or more words are notin the dictionary, the Precision may be assigned an initial value of 0.Thus, the precision-determining algorithm may increase the initial valueof the Precision of the domain name, and by extension, the appraisaland/or valuation of the domain name itself, depending on whether the“words” and “dictionary” columns and/or data fields both have a value of1 (or TRUE, indicating a 1-word domain name and that the 1 word is inthe dictionary).

The value assigned to the “words” and “dictionary” precision-determiningelements may each be evaluated individually to determine the number ofwords in the domain name and whether the words are found in thedictionary respectively. Depending on the value assigned to theseprecision determining elements, the initial value assigned to thePrecision of the domain name may be increased or decreased accordingly.

In the non-limiting example algorithm above, if the “words” data fieldhas a value of 2, no change would be made to the initial value. If thevalue is 3, the initial value for Precision may be reduced by 100. Ifthe value is 4, the initial value for Precision may be reduced by 500.If the value is greater than 4, the initial value for Precision may bereduced by 1000. Thus, the precision-determining algorithm may increaseor decrease by degrees the Precision of the domain name, and byextension, the appraisal and/or valuation of the domain name, dependingon whether the domain name has one word or more than one wordrespectively, single words being preferable to multiple words.

In the non-limiting example algorithm above, if the “dictionary” datafield has a value of 1 (or TRUE), indicating that the domain name isfound in the dictionary, the total value may be increased by 100,otherwise the total value may be decreased by 100. Thus, theprecision-determining algorithm may increase or reduce the Precision ofthe domain name, and by extension, the appraisal and/or valuation of thedomain name, depending on whether the domain name and/or keywords withinthe domain name are or are not words found in the dictionaryrespectively, words found in the dictionary being preferable.

The value assigned to the “length” precision-determining element mayeach be evaluated by the precision-determining algorithm to determinethe length of, or number of letters in, the domain name and/or anykeywords in the domain name (without the TLD or “top level domain” suchas .com, .us, .net, .org etc.). In the non-limiting example algorithmabove, if the “length” data field has a value of less than 3, the totalvalue for Precision may be increased by 500. If the value is 3, thetotal value for Precision may be increased by 400. If the value is 4,the total value for Precision may be increased by 100. If the value is5, the total value for Precision may be increased by 25. If the value isbetween 5 and 10, the total value for Precision may be neither increasednor reduced. If the value is between 11 and 15, the total value forPrecision may be reduced by 50. If the value is greater than 15, thetotal value for Precision may be reduced by 100. Thus, theprecision-determining algorithm may increase or reduce by degrees thePrecision of the domain name, and by extension, the appraisal and/orvaluation of the domain name, depending on the length of, or number ofletters in, the domain name, lower length being preferable to highlength.

The value assigned to the “numbers” precision-determining element mayeach be evaluated by the precision-determining algorithm to determinewhether the domain name and/or keywords in the domain name containnumerals. In the non-limiting example algorithm above, if the “numbers”data field has a value of 1 (or TRUE), indicating that the domain nameand/or keywords contain a numeral, the total value may be decreased by70, otherwise the total value may be neither increased nor reduced.Thus, the precision-determining algorithm may increase or reduce thePrecision of the domain name, and by extension, the appraisal and/orvaluation of the domain name, depending on whether the domain nameand/or keywords within the domain name contains numerals, numerals beingless preferable.

Popularity, the second of the 5 P's evaluated, may include one or morepopularity-determining elements. These popularity-determining elementsmay include various search result metrics measured by a search enginesuch as GOOGLE, and/or estimated searches per month as measured by asearch engine optimization monitoring service and/or software such asWORDTRACKER. These popularity-determining elements may be stored in datastorage 230 and assigned values used to determine the domain name'sappraisal value and/or valuation.

A popularity-determining algorithm may be established, stored and/orcontained within one or more software modules, possibly one or morepopularity-determining software modules. Such algorithms and softwaremodules may be stored and executed within an environment in a datacenter 240/250 using a server 210, client 220 and/or data storage 230,any or all of which may be communicatively coupled to a network 200.

This popularity-determining algorithm, which may be substantiallysimilar to that demonstrated in the non-limiting example embodiment(s)below and throughout this disclosure, may assign values to thepopularity-determining elements and/or may use these and/or otherpreviously-stored popularity-determining elements to determine thepopularity of the domain name, which in turn may be used to determinethe appraisal value and/or valuation of the domain name.

The one or more software modules, possibly one or morepopularity-determining software modules containing thepopularity-determining algorithm, may be executed by a processor on aserver 210, and the results may be sent through a network 200 anddisplayed on a user interface on a client 220.

In another non-limiting example embodiment, the elements may be storedin a local database, spreadsheet and/or any other data storage 230 onthe client 220. In this embodiment, one or more software modules,possibly one or more popularity-determining software modules, softwaremodules within a local database or spreadsheet, or any combinationthereof may be used to calculate and execute the popularity-determiningalgorithm.

As a non-limiting example, a spreadsheet may determine the Popularity ofthe domain name by using any combination of software modules describedabove to store, calculate and execute the followingpopularity-determining algorithm:=(((GP*0.05)+(GA*0.05)+(GT*0.2))/3000)+(WT*20)

In this non-limiting example, the spreadsheet may have columns, and/ordata storage 230 may have a data field for each of thepopularity-determining elements, and may have an additional columnand/or data field to store the calculated Popularity of the domain name.In other embodiments, each of the popularity-determining elements, aswell as the calculated Precision of the domain name may be calculatedand/or stored in data fields in data storage 230.

The popularity-determining elements may include, but are not limited to,three possible metrics for various search results from a search enginesuch as GOOGLE. These elements are represented by GP, GA and GTrespectively in the non-limiting example popularity-determiningalgorithm above. The precision-determining elements may also include,but are not limited to a metric for estimated searches per month asmeasured by a search engine optimization monitoring service and/orsoftware such as WORDTRACKER.

The value assigned to the three popularity-determining elements relatedto search result metrics measured by a search engine may each beevaluated to determine the Popularity related to these metrics. In thenon-limiting example algorithm above, these popularity-determiningelements related to search result metrics measured by a search enginemay be multiplied by a multiplier (the first and second elements by0.05, and the third by 0.2), and the result of these calculations maythen be summed together and divided by 3000.

The popularity-determining elements related to estimated searches permonth as measured by a search engine optimization monitoring serviceand/or software may be multiplied by a multiplier (in this example 20),and the result of these calculations may then be summed together withthe previous calculation related to search result metrics measured by asearch engine. Thus, the popularity-determining algorithm may increaseor reduce by degrees the Popularity of the domain name, and byextension, the appraisal and/or valuation of the domain name, dependingon the results of the search result metrics measured by a search engineand a search engine optimization monitoring service and/or software.

After the popularity-determining elements are calculated and/or stored,the popularity-determining algorithm may then evaluate and use anycombination of the popularity-determining elements or other disclosedelements to calculate and/or store the Popularity of the domain name.The value assigned to a particular popularity-determining element mayincrease or decrease the value of the Popularity of the domain name, andin turn may increase or decrease the appraisal and/or valuation of thedomain name itself.

Presence, the third of the 5 P's evaluated, may include one or morepresence-determining elements. These presence-determining elements mayinclude the following: the age of the domain name and a ranking for thedomain name using a domain ranking service such as ALEXA. Thesepresence-determining elements may be stored in data storage 230 andassigned values used to determine the domain name's appraisal valueand/or valuation.

A presence-determining algorithm may be established, stored and/orcontained within one or more software modules, possibly one or morepresence-determining software modules. Such algorithms and softwaremodules may be stored and executed within an environment in a datacenter 240/250 using a server 210, client 220 and/or data storage 230,any or all of which may be communicatively coupled to a network 200.

This presence-determining algorithm, which may be substantially similarto that demonstrated in the non-limiting example embodiment(s) below andthroughout this disclosure, may assign values to thepresence-determining elements and/or may use these and/or otherpreviously-stored presence-determining elements to determine thepresence of the domain name, which in turn may be used to determine theappraisal value and/or valuation of the domain name.

The one or more software modules, possibly one or morepresence-determining software modules containing thepresence-determining algorithm, may be executed by a processor on aserver 210, and the results may be sent through a network 200 anddisplayed on a user interface on a client 220.

In another non-limiting example embodiment, the elements may be storedin a local database, spreadsheet and/or any other data storage 230 onthe client 220. In this embodiment, one or more software modules,possibly one or more presence-determining software modules, softwaremodules within a local database or spreadsheet, or any combinationthereof may be used to calculate and execute the presence-determiningalgorithm.

As a non-limiting example, a spreadsheet may determine the Presence ofthe domain name by using any combination of software modules describedabove to store, calculate and execute the following presence-determiningalgorithm:

  =(IF(Age<1,−50,0)+IF(AND(Age>0,Age<3),−25,0)+IF(AND(Age>2,Age<5),0,0)+IF(AND(Age>4,Age<8),200,0)+IF(Age>7,500,0)+IF(Alexa=0,0)+IF(AND(Alexa>0,Alexa<100000),7500,0)+IF(AND(Alexa>100000,Alexa<300000),4000,0)+IF(AND(Alexa>300000,Alexa<500000),2000,0)+IF(AND(Alexa>500000,Alexa<1000000),1000,0)+IF(AND(Alexa>1000000,Alexa<2000000),700,0)+IF(AND(Alexa>2000000,Alexa<3000000),500,0)+IF(AND(Alexa>3000000,Alexa<4000000),200,0)+IF(AND(Alexa>4000000,Alexa<5000000),100,0)+IF(Alexa>5000000,25,0))

In this non-limiting example, the spreadsheet may have columns, and/ordata storage 230 may have a data field for each of thepresence-determining elements, and may have an additional column and/ordata field to store the calculated Presence of the domain name. In otherembodiments, each of the presence-determining elements, as well as thecalculated Presence of the domain name may be calculated and/or storedin data fields in data storage 230. The presence-determining elementsmay include, but are not limited to, “Age” and “Alexa”

The column and/or data field for “Age” may calculate and/or store theage of the domain name. No limitations should be placed on thetime-intervals for the “Age.” For example, Age could be measured indays, weeks, months, years, etc. As a non-limiting example, the age inthe example algorithm above may measure the age of the domain name inyears, so a 4-year-old domain name would have a number 4 calculatedand/or stored in the “Age” column of the spreadsheet or data field ofdata storage 230.

The column and/or data field for “Alexa” may calculate and/or store theranking for the domain name using a domain-name ranking service such asALEXA. As a non-limiting example, a domain name with an ALEXA rank of2,162,313 would have that number calculated and/or stored in the “Alexa”column of the spreadsheet or data field of data storage 230.

After the presence-determining elements are calculated and/or stored,the presence-determining algorithm may then evaluate and use anycombination of the presence-determining elements or other disclosedelements to calculate and/or store the Presence of the domain name. Thevalue assigned to a particular presence-determining element may increaseor decrease the value of the Presence of the domain name, and in turnmay increase or decrease the appraisal and/or valuation of the domainname itself.

The value assigned to the “Age” presence-determining element may each beevaluated to determine the age of the domain name. In the non-limitingexample algorithm above, if the “Age” data field has a value of lessthan 3, the total value for Presence may be reduced by 25. If the valueis between 3 and 4, the total value for Presence may be neitherincreased nor decreased. If the value is between 5 and 7, the totalvalue for Presence may be increased by 200. If the value is greater than7, the total value for Precision may be increased by 500. Thus, thepresence-determining algorithm may increase or reduce by degrees thePresence of the domain name, and by extension, the appraisal and/orvaluation of the domain name, depending on the age of the domain name,higher age being preferable to lower age.

The value assigned to the “Alexa” presence-determining element may eachbe evaluated to determine the rank of the domain name according to adomain-name ranking service such as ALEXA. In the non-limiting examplealgorithm above, if the “Alexa” data field has a value of between 0 and100000, the total value for Presence may be increased by 7500. If the“Alexa” data field has a value of between 100000 and 300000, the totalvalue for Presence may be increased by 4000. If the “Alexa” data fieldhas a value of between 300000 and 500000, the total value for Presencemay be increased by 2000. If the “Alexa” data field has a value ofbetween 500000 and 1000000, the total value for Presence may beincreased by 1000. If the “Alexa” data field has a value of between1000000 and 2000000, the total value for Presence may be increased by700. If the “Alexa” data field has a value of between 2000000 and3000000, the total value for Presence may be increased by 500. If the“Alexa” data field has a value of between 3000000 and 4000000, the totalvalue for Presence may be increased by 200. If the “Alexa” data fieldhas a value of between 4000000 and 5000000, the total value for Presencemay be increased by 100. If the “Alexa” data field has a value greaterthan 5000000, the total value for Presence may be increased by 25. Thus,the presence-determining algorithm may increase the Presence of thedomain name, and by extension, the appraisal and/or valuation of thedomain name, depending on the ranking of the domain name.

Pattern, the fourth of the 5 P's evaluated, may include one or morepattern-determining elements. These pattern-determining elements mayinclude the following: the number of premium characters found in thedomain name, the part of speech found in the domain name (possiblyevaluating if the part of speech is only one word) and thevowel-consonant relationship of the domain name (possibly evaluatingwhether the domain name is limited to 4 or 5 characters). Thesepattern-determining elements may be stored in data storage 230 andassigned values used to determine the domain name's appraisal valueand/or valuation.

A pattern-determining algorithm may be established, stored and/orcontained within one or more software modules, possibly one or morepattern-determining software modules. Such algorithms and softwaremodules may be stored and executed within an environment in a datacenter 240/250 using a server 210, client 220 and/or data storage 230,any or all of which may be communicatively coupled to a network 200.

This pattern-determining algorithm, which may be substantially similarto that demonstrated in the non-limiting example embodiment(s) below andthroughout this disclosure, may assign values to the pattern-determiningelements and/or may use these and/or other previously-storedpattern-determining elements to determine the pattern of the domainname, which in turn may be used to determine the appraisal value and/orvaluation of the domain name.

The one or more software modules, possibly one or morepattern-determining software modules containing the pattern-determiningalgorithm, may be executed by a processor on a server 210, and theresults may be sent through a network 200 and displayed on a userinterface on a client 220.

In another non-limiting example embodiment, the elements may be storedin a local database, spreadsheet and/or any other data storage 230 onthe client 220. In this embodiment, one or more software modules,possibly one or more pattern-determining software modules, softwaremodules within a local database or spreadsheet, or any combinationthereof may be used to calculate and execute the pattern-determiningalgorithm.

As a non-limiting example, a spreadsheet may determine the Pattern ofthe domain name by using any combination of software modules describedabove to store, calculate and execute the following pattern-determiningalgorithm:

  =IF(VCVCV=1,10,0)+IF(CVCVC=1,15,0)+IF(CVCV=1,20,0)+IF(VCVC=1,18,0)+IF(VCCV=1,10,0)+IF(CVVC=1,10,0)+IF(prem100=1,15,0)+IF(prem75=1,10,0)+IF(prem50=1,0,0)+IF(prem0=1,−15,0)+IF(Noun=1,1500,0)+IF(PluralNoun=1,2000,0)

In this non-limiting example, the spreadsheet may have columns, and/ordata storage 230 may have a data field for each of thepattern-determining elements, and may have an additional column and/ordata field to store the calculated Pattern of the domain name. In otherembodiments, each of the pattern-determining elements, as well as thecalculated Pattern of the domain name may be calculated and/or stored indata fields in data storage 230. The pattern-determining elements mayinclude, but are not limited to, “VCVCV” (indicating a pattern of vowel,consonant, vowel, consonant, vowel), “CVCVC” (indicating a pattern ofconsonant, vowel, consonant, vowel, consonant), “CVCV” (indicating apattern of consonant, vowel, consonant, vowel), “VCVC” (indicating apattern of vowel, consonant, vowel, consonant), “VCCV” (indicating apattern of vowel, consonant, consonant, vowel), “CVVC” (indicating apattern of consonant, vowel, vowel, consonant), “100% Prem,” “75-99%Prem,” “50-75% Prem,” “0-50% Prem,” “Noun,” “Plural Noun,” “Verb,”“Adjective,” etc.

The column and/or data fields for the vowel and consonantpattern-determining elements (including VCVCV, CVCVC, CVCV, VCVC, VCCVand CVVC in the non-limiting example elements above) may calculateand/or store a determination of whether the domain name and/or keywordsin the domain name contain a corresponding pattern of vowels andconsonants. This determination can be calculated and/or stored as aTRUE/FALSE value, or possibly numerically as a 1 or 0. In othernon-limiting embodiments, the actual pattern of vowels and consonantsmay be calculated and/or stored in the data fields.

As non-limiting examples urir.com may be found to have the vowel andconsonant pattern of VCVC, and thus would have a number 1 or a value ofTRUE calculated and/or stored in the “VCVC” column of the spreadsheetand/or data field of data storage 230, while fuel.net would have anumber 1 or a value of TRUE calculated and/or stored in the “CVVC”column of the spreadsheet or data field of data storage 230.

The column and/or data fields for the premium characterspattern-determining elements (including prem100, prem75, prem50 andprem0 in the non-limiting example elements above) may calculate and/orstore a determination of whether the domain name and/or keywords in thedomain name contain a corresponding pattern of premium characters. Thisdetermination can be calculated and/or stored as a TRUE/FALSE value, orpossibly numerically as a 1 or 0. In other non-limiting embodiments, theactual pattern of premium characters may be calculated and/or stored inthe data fields.

As non-limiting examples planets.com may be found to have 100% of thepremium characters (corresponding to prem100), and thus would have anumber 1 or a value of TRUE calculated and/or stored in the “100% Prem”column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230.Witchcraft.com, whatever.com and guns.com may be found to have between75% and 99% of the premium characters (corresponding to prem75), andthus would have a number 1 or a value of TRUE calculated and/or storedin the “75-99% Prem” column of the spreadsheet or data field of datastorage 230. 12steps.com may be found to have between 50% and 75% of thepremium characters (corresponding to prem50), and thus would have anumber 1 or a value of TRUE calculated and/or stored in the “50-75%Prem” column of the spreadsheet or data field of data storage 230. Asimilar logic may be applied for prem0 and the “0-50% Prem” column ofthe spreadsheet or data field of data storage 230.

The column and/or data fields for the part of speech pattern-determiningelements (including Noun, PluralNoun, etc. in the non-limiting exampleelements above) may calculate and/or store a determination of whetherthe domain name and/or keywords in the domain name contain acorresponding pattern of the part of speech found. This determinationcan be calculated and/or stored as a TRUE/FALSE value, or possiblynumerically as a 1 or 0. In other non-limiting embodiments, the actualpart of speech may be calculated and/or stored in the data fields.

As non-limiting examples witchcraft.com may each be found to be a Noun,and thus would have a number 1 or a value of TRUE calculated and/orstored in the “Noun” column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of datastorage 230. Planets.com and guns.com may each be found to be a PluralNoun, and thus would have a number 1 or a value of TRUE calculatedand/or stored in the “Plural Noun” column of the spreadsheet or datafield of data storage 230.

After the pattern-determining elements are calculated and/or stored, thepattern-determining algorithm may then evaluate and use any combinationof the pattern-determining elements or other disclosed elements tocalculate and/or store the Pattern of the domain name. The valueassigned to a particular pattern-determining element may increase ordecrease the value of the Pattern of the domain name, and in turn mayincrease or decrease the appraisal and/or valuation of the domain nameitself.

The value assigned to the vowel and consonant pattern-determiningelements (including VCVCV, CVCVC, CVCV, VCVC, VCCV and CVVC in thenon-limiting example elements above) may each be evaluated to determinewhether the domain name and/or keywords in the domain name contain thecorresponding pattern of vowels and consonants.

In the non-limiting example algorithm above, if the corresponding voweland consonant data field has a value of 1 (or TRUE), indicating that thedomain name and/or keywords contain that particular pattern of vowelsand consonants, the total value may be increased (by 10, 15, 20, 18, 10or 10 respectively, in this example), otherwise the total value may beneither increased nor reduced. Thus, the pattern-determining algorithmmay increase the Pattern of the domain name, and by extension, theappraisal and/or valuation of the domain name, depending on whether thedomain name and/or keywords within the domain name contain thecorresponding vowel and consonant pattern-determining elements, withcertain patterns being preferable.

The value assigned to the percentage of premium characterspattern-determining elements (including prem100, prem75, prem50 andprem0 in the non-limiting example elements above) may each be evaluatedto determine whether the domain name and/or keywords in the domain namecontain the corresponding percentage of premium characters within thepattern.

In the non-limiting example algorithm above, if the correspondingpercentage of premium characters data field has a value of 1 (or TRUE),indicating that the domain name and/or keywords contain that particularpercentage of premium characters, the total value may be increased orreduced by degrees (by 15, 10, 0 or −15 respectively, in this example),otherwise the total value may be neither increased nor reduced. Thus,the pattern-determining algorithm may increase or reduce the Pattern ofthe domain name, and by extension, the appraisal and/or valuation of thedomain name, depending on whether the domain name and/or keywords withinthe domain name contain a corresponding percentage of premium characterspattern-determining elements, with higher percentages of premiumcharacters being preferable.

The value assigned to the part of speech pattern-determining elements(including Noun, PluralNoun, etc. in the non-limiting example elementsabove) may each be evaluated to determine whether the domain name and/orkeywords in the domain name contain the corresponding part of speechwithin the pattern.

In the non-limiting example algorithm above, if the corresponding partof speech data field has a value of 1 (or TRUE), indicating that thedomain name and/or keywords contain that particular part of speech, thetotal value may be increased (by 1500 or 2000 respectively, in thisexample), otherwise the total value may be neither increased norreduced. Thus, the pattern-determining algorithm may increase thePattern of the domain name, and by extension, the appraisal and/orvaluation of the domain name, depending on whether the domain nameand/or keywords within the domain name contain corresponding part ofspeech pattern-determining elements, with recognized parts of speechbeing preferable.

Pay-per-click or PPC, the fifth of the 5 P's evaluated, may include oneor more PPC-determining elements. These PPC-determining elements mayinclude various pay-per-click bid metrics measured by a service and/orsoftware such as ADWORDS and/or the number of ads returned as measuredby a search engine such as GOOGLE. These PPC-determining elements may bestored in data storage 230 and assigned values used to determine thedomain name's appraisal value and/or valuation.

A PPC-determining algorithm may be established, stored and/or containedwithin one or more software modules, possibly one or morePPC-determining software modules. Such algorithms and software modulesmay be stored and executed within an environment in a data center240/250 using a server 210, client 220 and/or data storage 230, any orall of which may be communicatively coupled to a network 200.

This PPC-determining algorithm, which may be substantially similar tothat demonstrated in the non-limiting example embodiment(s) below andthroughout this disclosure, may assign values to the PPC-determiningelements and/or may use these and/or other previously-storedPPC-determining elements to determine the PPC of the domain name, whichin turn may be used to determine the appraisal value and/or valuation ofthe domain name.

The one or more software modules, possibly one or more PPC-determiningsoftware modules containing the PPC-determining algorithm, may beexecuted by a processor on a server 210, and the results may be sentthrough a network 200 and displayed on a user interface on a client 220.

In another non-limiting example embodiment, the elements may be storedin a local database, spreadsheet and/or any other data storage 230 onthe client 220. In this embodiment, one or more software modules,possibly one or more PPC-determining software modules, software moduleswithin a local database or spreadsheet, or any combination thereof maybe used to calculate and execute the PPC-determining algorithm.

As a non-limiting example, a spreadsheet may determine the PPC of thedomain name by using any combination of software modules described aboveto store, calculate and execute the following PPC-determining algorithm:=(PPCBid*100)+(Ads*50)

In this non-limiting example, the spreadsheet may have columns, and/ordata storage 230 may have a data field for each of the PPC-determiningelements, and may have an additional column and/or data field to storethe calculated PPC of the domain name. In other embodiments, each of thePPC-determining elements, as well as the calculated PPC of the domainname may be calculated and/or stored in data fields in data storage 230.

The PPC-determining elements may include, but are not limited to,metrics for various pay-per-click bid metrics measured by a serviceand/or software such as ADWORDS, and/or The PPC-determining elements mayalso include, but are not limited to a metric for the number of adsreturned as measured by a search engine such as GOOGLE.

The value assigned to the various pay-per-click bid metrics measured bya service may each be evaluated to determine the PPC related to thesemetrics. In the non-limiting example algorithm above, thesePPC-determining elements related to various pay-per-click bid metricsmay be multiplied by a multiplier (in this example 100).

The PPC-determining elements related to the number of ads returned asmeasured by a search engine may also be multiplied by a multiplier (inthis example 50), and the result of this calculation may then be summedtogether with the previous calculation related to various pay-per-clickbid metrics measured by a service and/or software. Thus, thePPC-determining algorithm may increase or reduce the PPC of the domainname, and by extension, the appraisal and/or valuation of the domainname, depending on the results of the various pay-per-click bid metricsmeasured by a service and/or the number of ads returned as measured by asearch engine.

After the PPC-determining elements are calculated and/or stored, thePPC-determining algorithm may then evaluate and use any combination ofthe PPC-determining elements or other disclosed elements to calculateand/or store the PPC of the domain name. The value assigned to aparticular PPC-determining element may increase or decrease the value ofthe PPC of the domain name, and in turn may increase or decrease theappraisal and/or valuation of the domain name itself.

Valuation, determined by the elements below, as well as the 5 P'sevaluated and their respective elements, may also include one or morevaluation-determining elements. These valuation-determining elements,possibly used in conjunction with the 5 P's evaluated, as well as eachof the respective elements used to determine them, may include thefollowing: The domain name separate from the TLD, the TLD associatedwith the domain name, the availability of the domain name with a .comTLD, a multiplier for the domain name's TLD, a determination of whetheror not the domain name contains dashes, as well as the number of dashes,if any, found in the domain name and a multiplier adjusted for domainnames containing dashes. These valuation-determining elements may bestored in data storage 230 and assigned values used to determine thedomain name's appraisal value and/or valuation.

A valuation-determining algorithm may be established, stored and/orcontained within one or more software modules, possibly one or morevaluation-determining software modules. Such algorithms and softwaremodules may be stored and executed within an environment in a datacenter 240/250 using a server 210, client 220 and/or data storage 230,any or all of which may be communicatively coupled to a network 200.

This valuation-determining algorithm, which may be substantially similarto that demonstrated in the non-limiting example embodiment(s) below andthroughout this disclosure, may assign values to thevaluation-determining elements and/or may use these and/or otherpreviously-stored valuation-determining elements to determine thevaluation of the domain name, which in turn may be used to determine theappraisal value of the domain name.

The one or more software modules, possibly one or morevaluation-determining software modules containing thevaluation-determining algorithm, may be executed by a processor on aserver 210, and the results may be sent through a network 200 anddisplayed on a user interface on a client 220.

In another non-limiting example embodiment, the elements may be storedin a local database, spreadsheet and/or any other data storage 230 onthe client 220. In this embodiment, one or more software modules,possibly one or more valuation-determining software modules, softwaremodules within a local database or spreadsheet, or any combinationthereof may be used to calculate and execute the valuation-determiningalgorithm.

As a non-limiting example, a spreadsheet may determine the Valuation ofthe domain name by using any combination of software modules describedabove to store, calculate and execute the followingvaluation-determining algorithm:

  =IF(IF(AND(Popularity<15,com_available=1),0,SUM(Precision:PPC)*(IF(AND(words=1,WT>250),25,IF(WT>250,15,6))*tld_multiplier*dash_multiplier))<10,0,IF(AND(Popularity<15,com_available=1),0,SUM(Precision:PPC)*(IF(AND(words=1,WT>250),25,IF(WT>250,15,6))*tld_multiplier*dash_multiplier)))

In this non-limiting example, the spreadsheet may have columns, and/ordata storage 230 may have a data field for each of thevaluation-determining elements, and may have an additional column and/ordata field to store the calculated Valuation of the domain name. Inother embodiments, each of the valuation-determining elements, as wellas the calculated Valuation of the domain name may be calculated and/orstored in data fields in data storage 230. The valuation-determiningelements may include, but are not limited to, “Domain,” TLD,”“com_available,” “tld_multiplier,” “dashes” and “dash_multiplier.”

The column and/or data field for “Domain” may calculate and/or store adetermination of the domain name without its associated TLD. Asnon-limiting examples planets.com, guns.com, whatever.com andwitchcraft.com would have “planets,” “guns,” “whatever” and “witchcraft”calculated and/or stored in the “Domain” column of the spreadsheetand/or data field of data storage 230 respectively.

The column and/or data field for “TLD” may calculate and/or store adetermination of the top level domain associated with the domain name.As non-limiting examples planets.com, guns.com, whatever.com andwitchcraft.com would all have “com” calculated and/or stored in the“TLD” column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230respectively.

The column and/or data field for “com_available” may calculate and/orstore a determination of whether the .com TLD for a particular domainname is available. This determination can be calculated and/or stored asa TRUE/FALSE value, or possibly numerically as a 1 or 0. As non-limitingexamples onlinelampguide.com and finnishfelines.com may both be domainnames available with a .com TLD, and thus would have a number 1 or avalue of TRUE calculated and/or stored in the “com_available” column ofthe spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230, while the otherdomain names listed above would have a number 0 or a value of FALSEcalculated and/or stored in the “com_available” column of thespreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230.

The column and/or data field for “tld_multiplier” may calculate and/orstore a multiplier based on the TLD associated with the domain name. Inone non-limiting example embodiment, this multiplier will always be lessthan 1 for TLDs other than .com. A non-limiting example formula oralgorithm may be used to determine the multiplier as follows:=IF(tld=“com”,1,IF(tld=“org”,0.08,IF(tld=“net”,0.1,IF(tld=“ca”,0.12,IF(tld=“us”,0.015)))))

Thus, if the TLD stored in the TLD column and/or data field is “com”,then a value of 1 may be calculated and/or stored in the“tld_multiplier” column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of datastorage 230. If the TLD stored in the TLD column is “org”, then a valueof 0.08 may be calculated and/or stored in the “tld_multiplier” columnof the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230. If the TLDstored in the TLD column is “net”, then a value of 0.1 may be calculatedand/or stored in the “tld_multiplier” column of the spreadsheet and/ordata field of data storage 230. If the TLD stored in the TLD column is“ca”, then a value of 0.12 may be calculated and/or stored in the“tld_multiplier” column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of datastorage 230. If the TLD stored in the TLD column is “us”, then a valueof 0.15 may be calculated and/or stored in the “tld_multiplier” columnof the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230.

As non-limiting examples masks.org would have a value of 0.08 calculatedand/or stored in the “tld_multiplier” column of the spreadsheet and/ordata field of data storage 230, fuel.net would have a value of 0.1calculated and/or stored in the “tld_multiplier” column of thespreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230, america.us would havea value of 0.015 calculated and/or stored in the “tld_multiplier” columnof the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230, while theother domain names listed above would have a value of 1 calculatedand/or stored in the “tld_multiplier” column of the spreadsheet and/ordata field of data storage 230.

No limitations should be placed on how the multiplier for a particulardomain name is determined. As a non limiting example, to come up withthe value of that same domain name for other TLDs, a multiplier may bebased on comparable sales or sometimes simply intuition. In onenon-limiting example embodiment, a dynamic multiplier may be createdbased on registration statistics per each TLD. This embodiment may givea very accurate measure of domain scarcity, thus indicating for domainname appraisal purposes relatively how rare a domain is. When doing thisdomain evaluation the standard may be to evaluate a name for the .comTLD and then apply a multiplier (always less than 1) to come up with thevalue of that same name in other TLDs. In another embodiment, the .comtop level domain may be used as a baseline multiplier and eachadditional top level domain may be assigned a multiplier less than thebaseline multiplier, but proportional to the number of registrations forthat top level domain name in comparison to .com domains.

As non-limiting examples, using the embodiment using the registrationstatistics per each TLD, the registrations may use registration data todetermine the following example registration statistics: COM—80,451,101,NET—12,227,350, ORG—7,541,738, INFO—5,134,461, BIZ—2,014,553,US—1,557,592, MOBI—836,345. Using these statistics, the followingmultipliers may be determined by comparing the proportionalregistrations of other TLDs to .com TLD registrations: com=1, net=0.15,org=0.09, info=0.06, biz=0.02, us=0.01, mobi=0.009. It should be notedthat the dynamic top level domain multiplier in this example is based onregistration statistics for each of a plurality of top level domains,.com top level domains being assigned a multiplier of 1 and eachadditional top level domain being assigned a multiplier of less than 1proportional to the number of registrations for that top level domainname as compared to the .com domains.

Thus, using the example multipliers based on registration statistics,the following example appraisals may be made (possibly using a softwaremodule executed on a server and configured to create and apply a toplevel domain multiplier comprising registration statistics) based on themultiplier for the domain “play”: play.com=$100,000, play.net=$15,000,play.org=$9,000, play.info=$6,000, play.biz=$2,000, play.us=$1,000,play.mobi=$900. These figures may be calculated by applying the toplevel domain multiplier to the certified domain name appraisal processby multiplying the dynamic top level domain multiplier by the appraisaland/or valuation of the domain name.

The column and/or data field for “dashes” may calculate and/or store adetermination of whether the domain name and/or any keywords in thedomain name contain dashes. This determination can be calculated and/orstored as a TRUE/FALSE value, or possibly numerically as a 1 or 0. Asnon-limiting examples any-cell.com contains dashes, and thus would havea number 1 or a value of TRUE calculated and/or stored in the “dashes”column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230, whilethe other domain names listed above would have a number 0 or a value ofFALSE calculated and/or stored in the “dashes” column of the spreadsheetand/or data field of data storage 230.

The column and/or data field for “dash_multiplier” may calculate and/orstore a multiplier based on whether the domain name contains dashes, asdetermined by the “dashes” column and/or data field. A non-limitingexample formula or algorithm may be used to determine the multiplier asfollows:=IF(dashes=0,1,IF(dashes=(words−1),0.1,0.01))

Thus, if the value stored in the dashes column and/or data field is 0(or FALSE), then a value of 1 may be calculated and/or stored in the“dash_multiplier” column of the spreadsheet and/or data field of datastorage 230. If the total of 1 minus the value in the “words” columnand/or data field (previously disclosed) is the same as the value storedin the “dashes” column or data field, then a value of 0.1 may becalculated and/or stored in the “dash_multiplier” column of thespreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230, otherwise, a value of0.01 may be calculated and/or stored in the “dash_multiplier” column ofthe spreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230.

As non-limiting examples any-cell.com would have a value of 0.1calculated and/or stored in the “dash_multiplier” column of thespreadsheet and/or data field of data storage 230, while the otherdomain names listed above would have a value of 1 calculated and/orstored in the “dash_multiplier” column of the spreadsheet and/or datafield of data storage 230.

After the valuation-determining elements are calculated and/or stored,the valuation-determining algorithm may then evaluate and use anycombination of the valuation-determining elements or other disclosedelements to calculate and/or store the Valuation of the domain name. Thevalue assigned to a particular valuation-determining element mayincrease or decrease the value of the Valuation of the domain name, andin turn may increase or decrease the appraisal of the domain nameitself.

  =IF(IF(AND(Popularity<15,com_available=1),0,SUM(Precision:PPC)*(IF(AND(words=1,WT>250),25,IF(WT>250,15,6))*tld_multiplier*dash_multiplier))<10,0,IF(AND(Popularity<15,com_available=1),0,SUM(Precision:PPC)*(IF(AND(words=1,WT>250),25,IF(WT>250,15,6))*tld_multiplier*dash_multiplier)))

To fully understand this example algorithm, it is important to break thealgorithm into smaller component parts. A smaller example algorithm isbeing evaluated to determine if it is less than or greater than 10. Ifthe result of this smaller example algorithm is less than 10, the valueof the Valuation is 0, otherwise the value of the Valuation is theresult of the smaller example algorithm. The smaller algorithm is asfollows:

  IF(AND(Popularity<15,com_available=1),0,SUM(Precision:PPC)*(IF(AND(words=1,WT>250),25,IF(WT>250,15,6))*tld_multiplier*dash_multiplier))

The value assigned to the “Popularity” valuation-determining element(itself calculated using the popularity-determining elements) may beevaluated by the valuation-determining algorithm to determine the valueassigned to the popularity of the domain name. The value assigned to the“com_available” valuation-determining element may also be evaluated bythe valuation-determining algorithm to determine whether the .com TLDfor a particular domain name is available. In the non-limiting examplealgorithm above, if the “Popularity” data field has a value of less than15, and the com_available data field has a value of 1 (or TRUE), thetotal value of the smaller example algorithm may be assigned a value of0, which would in turn cause the Valuation of the domain name to be 0,since the result of the smaller example algorithm is less than 10. Thus,the valuation-determining algorithm may increase or reduce the Valuationof the domain name, and by extension, the appraisal of the domain name,depending on whether the Popularity valuation-determining element isgreater than 15 and whether the .com TLD for the domain name isavailable, Popularity greater than 15 and non-available .com domainnames being preferable.

If the Popularity of the domain name is greater than 15 and/or the .comTLD for the domain name is not available, the total value of the smallerexample algorithm may be determined by multiplying 4 multiplicands.Again, it is helpful to break this smaller example algorithm intosmaller component parts to better understand it. In the smaller examplealgorithm, the first multiplicand is the sum of the Precision and thePPC valuation-determining elements.

The second multiplicand is determined by evaluating the followingformula/algorithm: IF(AND(words=1,WT>250),25,IF(WT>250,15,6) In thisformula/algorithm, the value assigned to the words valuation-determiningelement may be evaluated to determine whether the value is 1. The valueassigned to the metric for estimated searches per month (WT in theexample algorithm) may also be evaluated to determine if the value isgreater than 250. If the words element value is 1 and the estimatedsearches per month value is greater than 250, then the value assigned tothe second multiplicand would be 25, otherwise, the value assigned tothe second multiplicand would be determined by again evaluating thevalue assigned to the metric for the estimated searches per month (WT inthis example).

If this value is greater than 250, the value assigned to the secondmultiplicand would be 15; otherwise the value assigned to the secondmultiplicand would be 6. The third and fourth multiplicands are thevalues of the valuation-determining elements calculated and/or stored inthe tld_multiplier and dash_multiplier columns and/or data fieldsrespectively.

As non-limiting examples and using the algorithms described in detailabove, planets.com may be found to have a Precision, Popularity,Presence, Pattern and PPC of 600, 22877, 1000, 2015 and 241respectively. Using the formulas above, planets.com would have aValuation of $668,320.00.

FIG. 8 shows an example interface using the disclosed structure that maybe used for displaying the progress of the domain spinning to allow thedomain names to be displayed to the user. Likewise, FIG. 8 shows theappraisal and/or valuation of the domain name which may be displayed toa user on a user interface on a client.

The additional steps included in the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 1-8are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 7, or theirrespective illustrated embodiments, and may be combined in severaldifferent orders and modified within multiple other disclosedembodiments. Likewise, the method steps disclosed herein may beaccomplished by a software module executed on a server and/or clientconfigured to accomplish that method step.

Other embodiments and uses of the above inventions will be apparent tothose having ordinary skill in the art upon consideration of thespecification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. Thespecification and examples given should be considered exemplary only,and it is contemplated that the appended claims will cover any othersuch embodiments or modifications as fall within the true scope of theinvention.

The Abstract accompanying this specification is provided to enable theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally todetermine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and gist of thetechnical disclosure and in no way intended for defining, determining,or limiting the present invention or any of its embodiments.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: one or more servercomputers communicatively coupled to a network and running a domain nameappraisal module configured to: A) receive a domain name comprising adomain name text string and a top level domain; B) calculate anappraisal value for said domain name, said appraisal value increasing ordecreasing responsive to one or more variances in: i) a precision value;ii) a popularity value; iii) a presence value; iv) a pattern value; andv) a pay-per-click value; C) determine whether said top level domaincomprises a .com top level domain; D) responsive to a determinationthat: i) said top level domain comprises said .com top level domain,assign a value of 1 to a domain scarcity multiplier; ii) said top leveldomain does not comprise said .com top level domain, calculate: a) afirst sum of one or more domain name registrations for said top leveldomain; b) a second sum of one or more .com domain name registrations;c) said domain scarcity multiplier comprising a decimal value calculatedaccording to said first sum divided by said second sum; nameregistrations); E) calculate a revised appraisal value for said domainname according to said appraisal value being multiplied by said domainscarcity multiplier; and F) transmit said revised appraisal value to aclient computer communicatively coupled to said network.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein said domain name appraisal module is furtherconfigured to calculate said precision value for said domain name by: i)parsing one or more text strings from said domain name text string; ii)generating a keyword value comprising a numeric value for a quantity ofsaid one or more text strings parsed from said domain name text string;iii) searching an electronic dictionary in a database communicativelycoupled to said network for said one or more text strings; iv)generating a dictionary value comprising a true or false valuereflecting whether one or more of said one or more text strings arefound in said electronic dictionary; v) generating a length valuecomprising a number of characters in said domain name text string; andvi) generating a numerals value comprising a true or false valuereflecting whether one or more numerals are found in said domain nametext string.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein said domain nameappraisal module is further configured to calculate said precision valuefor said domain name by: i) initializing said precision value to 0; ii)determining whether: a) said keyword value is above or below apredetermined keyword threshold value; b) said dictionary valuecomprises said true value or said false value; c) said length value isabove or below a predetermined length threshold value; and d) saidnumerals value comprises said true value or said false value; iii)responsive to a determination that said keyword value is above saidpredetermined keyword threshold value, said dictionary value comprisessaid true value, said length value is below said predetermined lengththreshold value or said numerals value comprises said false value,increasing said precision value; and iv) responsive to a determinationthat said keyword value is below said predetermined keyword thresholdvalue, said dictionary value comprises a false value, said length valueis above said predetermined length threshold value or said numeralsvalue comprises a true value, decreasing said precision value.
 4. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein said domain name appraisal module is furtherconfigured to: i) write said keyword value to a keyword data field in arecord for said domain name stored in said database; ii) write saiddictionary value to a dictionary data field in said record; iii) writesaid length value to a length data field in said record; iv) write saidnumerals value to a numerals data field in said record; and v) writesaid precision value to a precision data field in said record.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said domain name appraisal module is furtherconfigured to calculate said popularity value for said domain name by:i) receiving, from one or more search engines, one or more search resultmetrics measured by said one or more search engines; ii) generating asearch engine metrics value comprising said one or more search resultmetrics; iii) receiving, from one or more search engine optimizationmonitoring services or software, one or more search tracking metricstracking, at regular intervals, an estimated number of searches of aplurality of words via said one or more search engine optimizationmonitoring services or software; and iv) generating a search trackingmetrics value comprising said one or more search tracking metrics. 6.The system of claim 5, wherein said domain name appraisal module isfurther configured to calculate said popularity value for said domainname by: i) initializing said popularity value to 0; ii) determiningwhether: a) said one or more search engine metrics comprise one or morepositive or one or more negative search engines metrics; and b) said oneor more search tracking metrics comprise one or more high or one or morelow estimated searches per month; iii) responsive to a determinationthat said one or more search engine metrics comprise said one or morepositive search engines metrics or said one or more search trackingmetrics comprise said one or more high estimated searches per month,increasing said popularity value; and iv) responsive to a determinationthat said one or more search engine metrics comprise said one or morenegative search engines metrics or said one or more search trackingmetrics comprise said one or more low estimated searches per month,decreasing said popularity value.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein saiddomain name appraisal module is further configured to: i) write saidsearch engine metrics value to a search engine metrics data field in arecord for said domain name stored in a database communicatively coupledto said network; ii) write said search tracking metrics value to asearch tracking metrics data field in said record; and iii) write saidpopularity value to a popularity data field in said record.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said domain name appraisal module is furtherconfigured to calculate said presence value for said domain name by: i)identifying a registration date for said domain name; ii) generating anage value comprising an age, in regular numeric time intervals, of saiddomain name, said age being determined by comparing a current date withsaid registration date; iii) receiving, from one or more domain nameranking services or software, a domain rank for said domain name; andiv) generating a domain rank value comprising said domain rank.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein said domain name appraisal module is furtherconfigured to calculate said presence value for said domain name by: i)initializing said presence value to 0; ii) determining whether: a) saidage value is above or below a predetermined age threshold value; and b)said domain rank value is above or below a predetermined domain rankthreshold value; iii) responsive to a determination that said age valueis above said predetermined age threshold value or said domain rankvalue is above said predetermined domain rank threshold value,increasing said presence value; and iv) responsive to a determinationthat said age value is below said predetermined age threshold value orsaid domain rank value is below said predetermined domain rank thresholdvalue, decreasing said presence value.
 10. The system of claim 8,wherein said domain name appraisal module is further configured to: i)write said age value to an age data field in a record for said domainname stored in a database communicatively coupled to said network; ii)write said domain rank value to a domain rank data field in said record;and iii) write said presence value to a presence data field in saidrecord.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein said domain name appraisalmodule is further configured to calculate said pattern value for saiddomain name by: i) identifying one or more characters as one or morepremium characters; ii) generating a premium characters value comprisinga percentage of said one or more premium characters in said domain name;iii) identifying one or more parts of speech; iv) generating a part ofspeech value comprising a true or false value reflecting whether saidone or more parts of speech are represented in said domain name; v)identifying one or more patterns of relationships between one or morevowels and one or more consonants in said domain name; and vi)generating a vowel consonant relationship value comprising a true orfalse value reflecting whether said one or more patterns ofrelationships between said one or more vowels and said one or moreconsonants are represented in said domain name.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein said domain name appraisal module is further configured tocalculate said pattern value for said domain name by: i) initializingsaid pattern value to 0; ii) determining whether: a) said premiumcharacters value is above or below a predetermined premium charactersthreshold value; b) said parts of speech value comprises said true valueor said false value; and c) said vowel consonant relationship valuecomprises said true value or said false value; iii) responsive to adetermination that said premium characters value is above saidpredetermined premium characters threshold value, said parts of speechvalue comprises said true value or said vowel consonant relationshipvalue comprises said true value, increasing said pattern value; and iv)responsive to a determination that said premium characters value isbelow said predetermined premium characters threshold value, said partsof speech value comprises said false value or said vowel consonantrelationship value comprises said false value, decreasing said patternvalue.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein said domain name appraisalmodule is further configured to: i) write said premium characters valueto a premium characters data field in a record for said domain namestored in a database communicatively coupled to said network; ii) writesaid part of speech value to a part of speech data field in said record;iii) write said vowel consonant relationship value to a vowel consonantrelationship data field in said record; and iv) write said pattern valueto a presence data field in said record.
 14. The system of claim 1,wherein said domain name appraisal module is further configured tocalculate said pay-per-click value for said domain name by: i)receiving, from one or more pay-per-click bid metrics services orsoftware, one or more pay-per-click bid metrics for said domain name;ii) generating a bid metric value comprising said one or morepay-per-click bid metrics; iii) receiving, from one or more searchengines, a number of ads returned for said domain name as measured bysaid one or more search engines; and iv) generating a returned ads valuecomprising said number of ads returned for said domain name.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein said domain name appraisal module is furtherconfigured to calculate said pay-per-click value for said domain nameby: i) initializing said pay-per-click value to 0; ii) determiningwhether: a) said bid metric value is above or below a predetermined bidmetric threshold value; and b) said returned ads value is above or belowa predetermined returned ads threshold value; iii) responsive to adetermination that said bid metric value is above said predetermined bidmetric threshold value or said returned ads value is above saidpredetermined returned ads threshold value, increasing saidpay-per-click value; and iv) responsive to a determination that said bidmetric value is below said predetermined bid metric threshold value orsaid returned ads value is below said predetermined returned adsthreshold value, decreasing said pay-per-click value.
 16. The system ofclaim 14, wherein said domain name appraisal module is furtherconfigured to: i) write said bid metric value to a bid metric data fieldin a record for said domain name stored in a database communicativelycoupled to said network; ii) write said returned ads value to a returnedads data field in said record; and iii) write said pay-per-click valueto a pay-per-click data field in said record.
 17. The system of claim 1,wherein said domain name appraisal module is further configured todetermine whether said domain name text string comprises one or moredashes and, responsive to a determination that said domain name textstring comprises said one or more dashes calculate a dashes multiplier,wherein said dashes multiplier is less than 1, wherein said revisedappraisal value is calculated according to the following formula: saidrevised appraisal value=(said appraisal value)*(said domain scarcitymultiplier)*(said dashes multiplier).
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein said domain name appraisal module is further configured to writeto a database communicatively coupled to said network, said appraisalvalue, said dashes multiplier, said domain scarcity multiplier, and/orsaid revised appraisal value in association with said domain name. 19.The system of claim 1, wherein said domain name appraisal module isfurther configured to: F) receive a domain name registration requestcomprising said domain name; G) parse said domain name text string intoone or more keywords; H) identify one or more available domain namesstored in a database communicatively coupled to said network, each ofsaid one or more available domain names comprising said one or morekeywords; I) calculate an available domain name appraisal value for eachof said one or more available domain names by: i) increasing ordecreasing said available domain name appraisal value responsive to oneor more variances in a precision value, a popularity value, a presencevalue, a pattern value or a pay-per-click value assigned to each of saidone or more available domain names; ii) determining whether each of saidone or more available domain names comprises a .com top level domain;iii) calculating a revised available domain name appraisal value foreach of said one or more available domain names according to thefollowing formula: said revised available domain name appraisalvalue=(said available domain name appraisal value)*(said domain scarcitymultiplier); and J) transmit, to said client computer, said revisedavailable domain name appraisal value for each of said one or moredomain names.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein said domain nameappraisal module is further configured to: determine whether anavailable domain name text string comprises one or more dashes and,responsive to a determination that said available domain name textstring comprises said one or more dashes, calculate an available domainname dashes multiplier wherein said available domain name dashesmultiplier is less than 1, wherein said revised available domain nameappraisal value is calculated according to the following formula: saidrevised available domain name appraisal value=(said available domainname appraisal value)*(said domain scarcity multiplier)*(said availabledomain name dashes multiplier).